SDCC 2014: Exclusive Leprechaun: Origins Interviews

Being a big wrestling fan one of the highlights I was looking forward to while covering Comic-Con 2014 was the Leprechaun: Origins Panel with Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl and director Zach Lipovsky.

As you can tell from the trailer they decided to bring a serious and brutal tone to the reboot of an iconic horror franchise that is known for its tongue in cheek one liners. This is a very different beast all together.

“It’s not tongue and cheek at all. It much more, the approach was much more of a Guillermo del Toro, kind of, R rated legitimate horror film. From the beginning it was what can we do that is an elevated horror film that makes you, oh crap, it’s actually disgusting or terrifying and surprises audiences in that way. The idea was to start fresh and look at the origins of Leprechauns and what could be the creatures that are there that aren’t little green creatures in a suit. What ideas are there to make them legitimately scary. 2000 years ago they meant something that was terrifying to them that then become the story that we all know as the Lucky Charms Leprechaun. But yeah it’s an R rated full on horror film.” said Zach.

When I asked if the Leprechaun will look like Warrick Davis’ creature we all know, he had a very different take on an iconic character.

“Very soon the Leprechaun look will be revealed. He was in 3 hours of make-up a day. So that meant he was in it when he was at lunch. It was full body make-up everyday. He did a very good job enduring that every day. There are some pretty disgusting scenes in the film where unfortunate people have gold on their body and they are in the wrong country for that. It becomes grizly.” said Zach

I asked Dylan what it was like to undergo the 3 hour make-up process each day and he was less than enthused by the process but was pleased with the result. I asked if he would rather get choke slammed by Kane or spend 3 hours in the make-up chair.

“That’s tough. Prosthetics. Ehhhh. Maybe a choke slam from Kane’s knees. But the prostheitc hurt less. I swear they had to glue the prosthetics on my eyes. I said I swear don’t do that. Zach said we have to have it for the tight shots. But man it was worth it. Seeing it, I saw it for the first time last time. It was a Canadian summer and it was so hot. Over 100 degrees. Brutal. The next one should be Leprechaun in the Artic. It’s gore, slashing killing man.”

Our full audio interview with both Dylan and Zach will be available on the Creepcast via iTunes & Stitcher Radio.

SYNOPSIS | Backpacking through the lush Irish countryside, two unsuspecting young couples discover a town’s chilling secret. Ben (Andrew Dunbar), Sophie (Stephanie Bennett), David (Brendan Fletcher) and Jeni (Melissa Roxburgh) quickly discover the idyllic land is not what it appears to be when the town’s residents offer the hikers an old cabin at the edge of the woods. Soon, the friends will find that one of Ireland’s most famous legends is a terrifying reality.